Parks And Recreation

A range of climate change impacts is already affecting and will continue to affect public parks, recreation, and cultural resources in California, as well as how Californians interact with the outdoors. Safeguarding these resources while accommodating the desire for increased access to parks and recreation is critical to connect Californians to both their natural environment and state history, provide places for gathering and education opportunities around climate change, and also to yield public health benefits such as cooling, clean air, and space for exercise. In addition, outdoor recreation contributes significantly to the economic well-being of communities, directly providing almost 700,000 jobs in the state.[1,
2] Climate impacts to parks and recreation will affect the 56% of California residents that participate in outdoor recreation in mountains, forests, and other landscapes each year, plus millions of others who visit neighborhood parks, beaches, and other public lands.[2] These impacts include sea level rise and increased coastal erosion, large and severe wildfires, drought reducing water availability at campsites and lowering water levels for freshwater recreation, and the warming of freshwater lakes that can result in dangerous toxic algal blooms. Another impact of a changing climate is that demand will continue to increase for accessing beaches, mountains, urban parks, and other cool recreation areas that serve as refuge during extreme heat days. Declines in native fisheries will continue to detriment traditional cultural practices for communities, including a number of California Native American tribes.

Although climate change adds to the challenges of managing these resources, actions by State agencies and in coordination with diverse partners can help ensure that parks, recreation, and cultural resources can be enjoyed by future generations. An important action area is ensuring public access to the coast and coastal recreation in the face of rising seas and other impacts, while protecting beaches and coastal habitat. Furthermore, demand will likely increase for inland, mountain, and freshwater regions, and these recreation areas must adapt to increased visitors. In urban areas, climate change provides an opportunity and driver to rethink urban design with an emphasis on public space, equitable access to parks, and green infrastructure. Walking trails and green alleys can increase connectivity between residents, community parks, and other destinations while providing carbon-free transportation options. Urban parks and green space can be designed to reduce stormwater runoff and flooding, recharge drinking water supplies, and save energy used for water treatment.[3] In coastal cities, wetlands, shoreline parks, and natural areas can buffer low-lying urban centers from the impact of rising seas, storms, and flooding. Finally, efforts to preserve cultural and historic resources—including artifacts, archaeological sites, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, museum collections, buildings and structures—from climate impacts must be interwoven into other adaptation and resilience initiatives to address climate change.

Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. 2016

FloodingSea level rise

Assessment

This report is an assessment of the Los Angeles County public beach facilities and their vulnerability to future sea-level rise. The report is focused on the erosion and flood risk that beaches in the county, which are currently artificially … maintained, face. Since these beaches are valuable assets to the region, the report aims to suggest management strategies that can be used to preserve and maintain the existing public beach system for as long as possible.

California King Tides Project. 2018

FloodingSea level rise

Communication or educational materialProject or Example

This website is the home of the California King Tides project, which is part of a global network of similar programs. The project, which is a citizen science effort has two primary goals: 1) Educate the public about sea level rise … by engaging people and showing them how today’s high tides are the average future condition; and 2) Create a catalogue of hyperlocal flood risk data for researchers and decision makers. The website provides more project information and details how people can get involved.

City of Del Mar. 2016

FloodingSea level rise

Plan or strategy

The Del Mar Sea-Level Rise Adaptation Plan serves as the City of Del Mar’s long-range planning guide to address future sea-level rise and its effects on storm surge and coastal flooding and erosion. This Adaptation Plan will provide … the basis for developing new sea-level rise policies that will be integrated into the City’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) via a LCP Amendment.

The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. 2015

FloodingSea level rise

Assessment

Students at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management completed this vulnerability assessment for the City of Santa Barbara as it prepares to update its Local Coastal Program (LCP). This assessments looks at the impacts of … sea level rise on human populations, critical infrastructure, recreation and public access, as well as ecological resources. These vulnerabilities are based on different modeling techniques including 1) exposure modeling, 2) permanent inundation modeling, 3) storm surge modeling, 4) bluff erosion modeling, and human populations sensitivity assessment. The report also includes adaptation strategies that the City can use to create a more resilient community in the face of sea level rise related hazards.

California Energy Commission. 2012

FloodingSea level rise

Assessment

The California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program supports public interest research, development, and demonstration projects to benefit California. This report is one of many products from this program. Specifically, … this is a study that assesses the vulnerability of the City of Santa Barbara to future sea‐level rise and related coastal hazards (by 2050 and 2100). The analysis is based upon past events, shoreline topography, and exposure to sea‐level rise and wave attack. It also evaluates the likely impacts of coastal hazards to specific areas of the City and analyzes the risks. The report looks at the City’s adaptive capacity and recommends potential adaptation responses.

University of Arizona Native Nations Climate Adaptation Program. 2017

DroughtExtreme heatFloodingTemperatureWildfire

Assessment

This report highlights recent climate related activities undertaken by Native Nations, needs for science based support, and potential areas for partnership. Chapter 6.2 of this assessment provides summaries for California Tribes and reservations, … including Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Fort Independence Indian Reservation, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, Lipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, Ramona Band of Cahuilla, and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. The reservation and tribes are working on writing plans focused on climate impacts like wildfires, droughts, heat, and floods, as well as climate change preparedness plans, adaptation plans, vulnerability assessments, and tribal environmental plans.

California Department of Fish & Wildlife. 2013

FloodingSea level rise

Assessment

This report is an assessment of the vulnerability to future sea level rise of three Humboldt Bay wildlife areas: 1) Fay Slough, 2) Mad River Slough, and 3) Elk River. The report specifically developed assessments of the vulnerabilities … of shoreline structures to flooding, breaching, erosion, and overtopping. The analysis looked at potential management implications for land uses, resource uses, and infrastructure uses. The report concludes with some general adaptive planning recommendations focused mainly on further assessments of vulnerability and economic impacts.

County of San Mateo. 2017

FloodingSea level rise

Assessment

This report is an assessment of San Mateo County’s vulnerability to future sea-level rise and associated impacts, which include inundation, erosion and flooding. It explores these impacts as they relate local assets, including critical infrastructure, … essential regional transportation networks and infrastructure, and important regional natural and recreational assets. The report uses a risk-based approach to explore local issues of public health, governance and cascading impacts. The report uses the protection, accommodation, and managed retreat framework to think about various possible adaptation strategies.

California State Coastal Conservancy. 2016

Extreme stormsFloodingSea level rise

Assessment

Economic Impacts of Climate Adaptation Strategies for Southern Monterey Bay is a collaborative research report resulting from State Coastal Conservancy’s Climate Ready Grant that The Nature Conservancy received. The report is designed to … provide decision makers, who are now required to address sea level rise in planning, with the tools to properly evaluate options when dealing with accelerating coastal erosion. The report is a rigorous cost benefit analysis that compares various climate adaptation management strategies including beach nourishment, managed retreat and elevating structures.

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE). 2018

FloodingSea level rise

Communication or educational materialProject or Example

This website provides an overview of the story of Pacifica State Beach and the physical climate adaptation project that took place there. It tells how the city battled chronic flooding and coastal erosion for decades. Although the city … had tried structural stabilization techniques (e.g., armoring, channelization), the city remained at risk from flooding hazards and erosion. The city worked with various partners to purchase two homes and surrounding acreage. The city was then able to remove the homes, rebuild the dunes, and restore four acres of beach and the nearby estuary. The wetland project not only achieved 100-year flood protection for Pacifica, it also enhanced steelhead habitat in San Pedro Creek and cost substantially less because it required less physical construction compared to other proposed plans.